Sticks + Mud = Graham's idea of fun

The cold weather doesn't keep Graham from wanting to go outside. He puts on his coat and boots and is ready to tromp around in the mud. A few days ago we had some snow showers for about an hour. No accumulation occured. As soon as Graham woke up and saw the snow, he begged to go outside. I finally agreed to a few short minutes of outdoor fun. We are counting down the days until Spring! (27 for those of you that are counting with us.)

Tim and Uncle Tim (my brother) cut down a tree in our backyard that had died last summer. We now have a nice stump to sit on.

Wesley loves to jump!

Wesley loves to jump just like his brother! He's also started saying, "Da da." He doesn't say it in reference to Tim. He just makes the sounds. It's a start though.

A Little Under the Weather

Graham got a little fever Thursday and continued to feel bad on Friday. We spent the day around the house reading books, watching movies, and resting. On Saturday, he awoke with plenty of energy and ready to go hiking with his daddy. I'm glad to see him feeling better.

Brothers in the Bath!

One of the best things about having a second baby is watching the two children interact. Wesley and Graham love taking baths together. Even though Graham is sometimes rough with his little brother, he loves him very much. Tonight as I was holding Wesley up out of the bubbles so we could rinse him off, Graham looked at his brother and said, "Oh, he's so cute!"

Graham at 7 months

I found this picture of Graham when he was learning to sit up. I like to compare the pictures of the boys.

Sitting Up

Wesley has gotten very good at sitting by himself just in the last week. He also is spending more time at the beginning of each nap rolling in his crib and playing. Nana got him this cute onesie for Valentine's Day. Thanks, Mom!

Sweet Dreams

Swinging

Sometimes we go to the park on Friday afternoons after I pick up Graham from Mother's Day Out. This week, it was so warm and sunny outside. It felt like Spring.

Things brothers like to do...

Graham was sitting in his daddy's lap after dinner. As I was pulling Wesley out of his highchair, Graham asked if Wesley could sit in his lap.

If you are wondering...yes, Graham is sticking his brother's finger up his nose. And, you know what, Wesley liked it! Ahhhh, this is only the beginning of all the gross things brothers like to do to each other. :)

My Precious Wesley!

I love this stage that he's getting into where he is happy sitting in one place pulling toys out of a basket. Right, Amy? :)


He's a cutie pie!

G G Pa and Uncle Duey

My granddad and his brother, Duey, came to visit us this week. Uncle Duey lives in California and my granddad lives in TX. We felt privelged that they made the long journey to see us. Graham has espcially loved having them here. First, he got out all of his games for them to play with him. He loves sitting in GGPa's lap and wants to go downstairs to see them as soon as he wakes up in the morning. What good memories we are making with family.

Uncle Duey and GGPa are three years apart. Can you guess who is older?

GGPa, Duey, and my cousin, Andrew, with Wesley

Thankyou, Lord, for the sunshine!

After some rainy, windy days and some tornadoes in our area (fortunately none were close to our house), we were very happy to see the sunshine today. We went to a park nearby that has a small playground and a nice walking trail near a creek. Graham played on the playground for a few minutes before deciding he would rather take a walk, pick up sticks, and look at the water. We all enjoyed being outside.

Wesley is seven months old!

Wesley turns seven months old tomorrow. He's starting to sit up on his own and enjoys playing with toys and putting everything in his mouth. No teeth have popped through yet, but he's drooling tons.

He's already finding Graham's toys interesting. Hopefully, Graham will be a kind big brother and share.

Wesley got some rice sticks from our Japanese friends. They are made especially for babies with no sugar or salt, and they dissolve in their mouths. He really likes them.

Just for fun, here's a picture of Graham at seven months. You can definately tell they are brothers.

Hands On

Graham loves to make things with his hands. He really doesn't like to play with toys that much, and blocks don't seem to interest him either. He likes things that are messy. :) He loves to paint, play with playdough, and help me bake and cook. I found this cute apron and had to get it for him. Maybe it will help a little with the cleanup process.

This morning, he helped me bake some cookies for Valentine's Day. We our going with our Mops group to a retirement home and will take the cookies with us to pass out to the residents.
Graham also is very peticular about what he wears. He really likes to be comfortable and prefers to wear his pajamas at home. I let him wear them in the morning until we go somewhere. He's also been getting undressed at naptime and sleeping in just his underwear. Kids do silly things, and mine is no exception.

Perpy

Tim's mom, Perpy, came for the weekend to see Wesley getting dedicated. We were very happy she got to be a part of the special day. We're always happy to see Perpy. We love you, Perpy! Thanks for coming.

Dedicating Wesley to the Lord

At church today, we dedicated Wesley to the Lord. Tim read some verses and the minister to children and the pastor prayed for Wesley. It was a special time to make a promise to teach Wesley about Jesus and to be reminded that he is not ours. He's a special blessing from God, and he belongs to God. I pray everyday for wisdom from the Lord to raise our boys to love God and to love others.
Graham did very well standing up with us during the ceremony. I told him he was promising as a big brother to help teach Wesley about Jesus, too.

The verses we picked for Wesley are from Ephesians 3.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with poower through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Night Cap

One of Wesley's new pj's had a little cap that went with it. We tried it on him just for fun, and Graham thought it was so funny. Graham insisted that he wear a hat with his pj's, too. Of course, he didn't have a little matching cap, but we found his cowboy hat (Thanks, Kyle!). It's so funny to me how he often wants to do the same things that Wesley is doing. Shouldn't it be the other way around-the little brother wanting to do what the big brother is doing? I guess that will come in time.

Fast Asleep

"Nothing in this world is quite as sweet as a tiny baby fast asleep.

I could watch you to the end of time...especially when that baby is mine."

These words are in a song written by Sarah Groves. She has become one of my favorite artists. She has a beautiful voice with insightful lyrics, and many of her songs are about being a mother.

So, my baby is not so tiny anymore. Wesley had his 6 month checkup last week and weighed 19.5 pounds. That puts him in the 75 percentile for weight which is strange to me because Graham was always in the 10% percentile. I love his nice, chubby thighs! Right, Nana? :)

Never Cease to Praise

Here are the words to one of my new favorite songs that we sing at church. Our minister of music wrote the words, and I just love it. I always get tears in my eyes as we sing the last few verses.

Never Cease to Praise

May we run this race, may we keep the faith; May our eyes be fixed on Jesus-
That we'll not lose heart in our struggle with sin, And through suffering know endurance.

May we arm ourselves with the mind of Christ-To rejoice in trials and be not surprised.
May our hearts be so consumed by You That we never cease to praise!

May the words we share be Your grace and peace; May our tongues speak Your proclamations-
That the many parts of the body of Christ Be affirmed in their right relation.

As we long and wait for the groom to come, May we learn to love, and spur each other on.
May our hearts be so consumed by You That we never cease to praise!

When that day arrives, and the race is won, When our griefs give way to deliverance.
We will fully know as we're fully known, All our groans will end as new songs begin.

And a multitude from every tribe and tongue, Wearing robes of white, will stand before Your throne,
And our hearts will be so consumed by You
That we never cease to praise!

Some of their favorite things...

Jumping in the JumperooSleepingHelping Mommy in the kitchen and being a taste-tester