I have figured out that around 10am every morning Graham is wide awake and cooperative for my little photo shoots! We took all kinds of different shots this morning and I uploaded bunches to the Graham photo album. My time is limited though, towards the end, he always falls asleep on me!

We keep talking about what a hard little sleeper Graham is and this picture just really hits the point home! Yes, the vacuum cleaner is on and Dean literally vacuumed the carpet all around and under his swing! He did not even flinch! I have always heard that you are not supposed to be super quiet during the day and we certainly do not! This picture was taken in the middle of the afternoon!

It is truly amazing to think that Graham has been in our life for four weeks now! I can hardly imagine life before his entrance though! In honor of his one-month milestone, one morning this week, he and I had a little photo shoot! I had thought about taking him to the mall for a photo session, but since he still isn't supposed to be out much in public, I decided to see what I could do at home for the one-month photos. So, with the bouncy seat and some blankets and several changes of clothes, we had quite the morning! Of course, I took over a 100 pictures to get a few really good ones, but in the end, I had some that were good enough to make enlargements, wallets, etc of. Hop over to the photo album page and you can see lots more.

Graham continues to be such a good little baby, still sleeping tons, and he has put himself on somewhat of a schedule with regards to the times of day that he sleeps, eats, and is awake. He is only waking once during the night, which is just amazing! We know that this could change at any given moment, so we are certainly enjoying it while we can.

On Friday night, we had our first official night out without Graham. The annual Public Relations Society of America Awards Gala had been on our calendar for months and I also was the co-chair of the event. So, mama and daddy came to babysit and we ventured out. We were gone about six hours and I only called to check in three times, ha! Graham did great for his sitters and we had such a fun night. Of course, I was armed with lots of pictures to show everyone! And, I also won two awards, so it was a really neat night. I tried to get Graham to pose for a picture for me while I was all dressed up and ready to go, but unfortunately, my departure time coincided with his nap time, so he slept through the photos.

Graham just wanted to say Happy Halloween. He got this Tigger costume as a gift and thought you might like to see him in it! Not sure if we will actually venture out trick or treating, but it sure was fun dressing him in the costume.

Three weeks old already! It is amazing how much Graham has already changed! He is so alert, when he is awake, that is! He is still a hard little sleeper. He eats and typically goes right back to sleep! We had a little bit of a challenge this week, as I developed a couple infections, had to go on some medications and ultimately we decided to switch from breast feeding to formula. We went back to the doctor on Wednesday and Graham had gained eight ounces and weighed in at 7 pounds, 6 ounces, a total of five ounces above his birth weight. So, we are finally over the hump and hopefully his weight will continue to steadily increase!

Graham continues to have lots of visitors and he continues to sleep through all the visits! But, most visitors enjoy just seeing him even if he is asleep! My mom, dad and Kenneth came to visit on Saturday, it was Kenneth’s 30th birthday! So, we had dessert and celebrated with him. See the picture below.

Bathtime continues to be fun each week and he seems to like it more and more each time! He doesn’t even cry any more! We have started venturing out a little more and he continues to be such a good little car seat rider and does so well when we run in a store or two for a quick errand. We are still trying to limit going out to really public places for a couple more weeks. We are very excited to get back to church. Dean started back without Graham and I last week, and hopefully in about three weeks, we can join him. We know that everyone there is so anxious to meet Graham and I really miss being there on Sundays. It will be so fun and special when we get to all go together as a family that first time. I will surely take lots of pictures that day!

We started doing a little Christmas shopping, normally by this time of year, I am about done and have started wrapping. So, I am just a little behind, but hopefully, I will catch up soon! It is so exciting to think about the holidays this year with Graham here! I can’t wait!

We will go back this week and get Graham’s weight checked again and then the next week, he has his one month check-up. He will be an old pro at doctor’s visits by that time! Maybe he will break 8 pounds this week!

Hard to believe that little Graham has been with us for two weeks now! The days are already flying by. We went back to the doctor on Wednesday and he had not gained any more weight, but hadn’t lost any either. We did cut out the formula, so not sure if that played a part or not. The plan was the same - to nurse and nurse and nurse and try to put some weight on him! So, that is what I did and at the appointment Friday, he was up 1.4 ounces to 6 pounds and 14 ounces, just a few ounces shy of his birth weight. So, we have another appointment next Wednesday and we really hope he hits seven pounds!

Graham had more visitors throughout the week and cards and gifts continue to arrive for him and us. So, that is lots of fun. He still just wearing his newborn outfits, but all those 0 -3 months outfits are on standby and waiting for him!

He did much better at bath time this week, not nearly as much crying, he actually seemed to enjoy it a little! And, due to all the doctor appointments and a couple fast trips to Walmart (that someone stayed in car with him), he has been out in the carseat something like 8 times in two weeks! Everyone at doc office comments on how little he is. I guess people aren’t used to seeing a one to two week old baby out in public! But, we are still not going to big crowded places yet, it will be a few more weeks for that. Of all those times in the carseat, he only cried really hard one time, so hopefully, he will be a trooper in the carseat.

Enjoy this rare pic of his eyes WIDE open and check out some others over on the Shelly page. I will try to keep updating often!

Happy One Week to Graham! And, what a week it was! The week was definitely consumed by the numbers – his weight, number of feedings, number of diapers, number of bottles, etc! When we left the hospital last Sunday, Graham had lost 14 ounces, down to 6 pounds and 3 ounces, which was 10% of his birth weight. So, the pediatrician wanted to see him first thing Monday morning for a weight check and told us to supplement with a small amount of formula at each feeding. When we weighed him Monday, he had gained 7 oucnes back! So, that was great news, but his jaundice level had gone up slightly! So, they wanted us to come back on Wednesday for another weight check and wanted us to keep supplementing and also keep him in front of the windows as much as possible.

So, on Wednesday, we went back in and his jaundice had cleared up wonderfully, but he did not gain any weight! But, he was going through the diapers like crazy, so they were very encouraged. Another suggestion was for me to starting pumping some milk for me to transition over from the formula bottles. So, those were our instructions that day and we had another appointment for Friday!

So, we went back on Friday and he had gained 3.2 ounces! So, they were thrilled. So, now we are trying to phase out the formula and eventually phase out the pumped bottles for the time being until he really gets the hang of this nursing stuff. We go back again next Wednesday and hopefully he will have had another big weight gain spurt!

He is a pretty hard sleeper like his mommy and daddy and once he goes to sleep, nothing really wakes him up, phones ringing, doorbell, Madison barking, people talking, etc. He sleeps through it all. And, sometimes at night, he has slept for some really long stretches like 4 – 6 hours! But, with trying to watch his weight, the challenge is that we don’t go too long in between feedings, so we have to normally wake him up when it is time to eat. And, that is a task! It takes me about as long as it takes me to wake his daddy on work mornings, ha!

But, all in all, we had a great week! The first bath on Thursday night was tons of fun and he already has such a little personality. He has already had several visitors, including his Grandma Okie who came and spent three days with us after Dean went back to work. Nothing like Grandma’s cooking to make the week!

So, as you can see at the top of the page, instead of counting down the week numbers of the pregnancy, we have transitioned, to counting the weeks of Graham’s life! I will try to blog at least once a week with a photo like I did for the pregnancy and if anything fun or interesting happens, I will try to insert those as well! Enjoy the updates! Thanks for all the cards, calls, emails and well wishes. We all feel very loved!

What an exciting adventure tonight! We gave Graham his first bath! It was a lot of fun, a little messy and noisy, ha! (I think Dean was as wet as Graham!) He was a little trooper, cried for awhile, but as soon as we got him out and swaddled him in a towel, he was so content again. He let us put lotion on him and warm him up. Then, he just laid there and posed on his towel for all kinds of pictures. I think he is starting to get used to the camera flash! The bath was a lot of fun and hopefully, next time he won’t be so upset with us. Enjoy these pictures of this first milestone! (and thanks to our photographer – Mama!)

Dean and Graham were hanging out in the nursery earlier this week and Madison decided to join them and hang out. Madison has done fine all week adjusting to Graham being in the house. She seems to get a little annoyed when he cries and just leaves the room. Otherwise she just follows us around to whatever room we are in and lays down. Sometimes she comes close and sniffs his head and then just walks off. We knew she would do fine, but it has been nice to see that it worked out!

We got to check out of the hospital at Noon today! We had a very relaxing afternoon at home! Things are going pretty good. Graham is eating and sleeping and crying and doing all those things that babies do. He lost about 8 ounces since his birth, so the pediatrician said he wants to go ahead and have us come into the office at 10am Monday morning for a weight check. He also suggested that we give Graham about a half ounce of formula at each feeding. So, hopefully, when we get to the doctor, he will at least not be loosing any more weight, and maybe even gain a little! So, we are gonna have our first adventure being out and about! Don’t worry I will document with pics for sure! So, here is a cute shot of Graham in his carseat as we were leaving the hospital. Dean and I are both feeling pretty good, tired and excited and all kinds of emotions. I will try to catch up on emails this week and keep everyone posted on how we are all doing! Thanks for all the well wishes, love and support!