We had a nice Memorial Day Monday, as Dean was finally starting to feel better. We slept in and then ventured over to the lake, it looked to be a nice pool day, but started raining as we got there. We had a nice picnic lunch in the gazebo and watched it rain. Although, Graham told the rain to stop. We had some play time in the pool although it was a little chilly, then we went down and threw sticks in the lake, apparently that is a must do for every trip to the lake this year!

We headed back to work and school on Tuesday for a short busy week. We gave Graham's two week notice at his daycare. Next Monday, the 8th, he will be moving to First Baptist Church Child Development Center, where we have been on the waiting list for a good while. We are very excited about their faith based program and I have several friends that speak very highly of it. We have started talking to Graham about it a little bit and my mom made him a new sailboat blanket to take to his new school. He has a couple friends that he is very attached too though, so hopefully he will do okay. We have two visits this week on Tuesday and Wednesday at the new school, so hopefully those will go well.

We also have my company picnic on Friday afternoon and evening at Mill Mountain Zoo, so we are very excited about that. I will pick Graham up early from school on Friday afternoon and head to the zoo, so it will be a very busy and fun week!

We went to last swim lesson of the season on Saturday morning. Graham did so very good, it is truly amazing the progress that he has made. He got his report card and got very good reviews. We will start back in September and they told us to just get him in the water as much as we can keep repeating what we have been doing.

We ventured back to the lake on Saturday and ventured back in the pool, the water was still a little cold but Graham didn't seem to mind. He loves to sit on the steps and play and swing from the handrail. We got his boat out and he was very excited to float around in it. There was a sailboat race going on and he told us there were "20 boats!" It was fun to watch. And, of course, we had to throw sticks in the water! Graham took a late nap on the way home and slept a bit even after we got home!

We had a nice service and reception at church on Sunday for Father Gardner's last service with us as priest as he is retiring. Graham is quite attached to him and loves it when he blesses him at the communion rail every Sunday. So, we will have to explain to him for weeks where Father Gardner is I am sure! Hopefully, he will hit it off with the new priest when he arrives in a couple months.

A few pics from the pool.

What a week we have had! By the time Graham went to bed on Sunday night, he was fighting the fever worse than he had all day. We woke him up before we went to bed to give him some medicine and he slept all night. But, the next morning, his temp was back up, so Dean stayed home with him. I had a super crazy busy week at work. Graham's temp was up and down all day long, and he was just laying around and not himself so finally I called the doc and they wanted to see him that evening. I met Dean and Graham at the doc and after a painful appt with a cranky little boy, and strep test due to the blisters on his throat......they sent us home with a virus! The strep test was negative, even when they rechecked it the next day. He weighed in at 32 pounds, so the only thing we really learned was that we need to up his dosage of tylenol and motrin. The only other complaints he had was some occassional chills and he said his back hurt and his belly hurt, so we think he was having some aches and pains.

On Tuesday, my parents came and stayed with him for the day. Dean had a dentist appt that morning and needed to head back to work and I needed to be at work as well. His temp tapered off and he seemed to be mostly back to normal. They had a fun play day together and he even took a good long nap for them!

On Wednesday evening, Dean started getting the same thing Graham had, he missed work Thursday and Friday and we went to the doc for him on Thursday evening......only to get the same basic diagnosis. Like Graham, his temp was up and down for several days, through Sunday morning. Graham was very sweet about checking on daddy and asking him if he felt better and offering him his doggy ice pack. It was probably the first time he really understand us being sick, he also went to the doc with us on Thursday evening, so that helped him understand as well.

On Saturday morning, Graham and I left Dean home to rest and we went shopping. My mom met us at the mall and we loaded Graham up in the stroller and hit the mall. It was the first time in ages, Graham had strolled the mall and he did great, not even trying to get out of the stroller! We got some lunch and made a couple more stops and then headed home. He konked out on the way and slept another couple hours after we got home!

We played out on the playset after we got home and went for a walk, it was such a nice day. Dean was even feeling a little better at the point and came outside with us. We decided to stay home from church on Sunday since Dean was still up and down, he had a rough night on Saturday, so it was a good thing we planned to stay in. Sunday late-morning was really his turning point though, so that was nice!

We decided to venture out a bit for the afternoon and get some fresh air, so we ran to the mall and Barnes and Noble and then got some take out. Dean was feeling so much better, so that was nice! Graham again did great in the stroller and had a ball playing at the train table at the kids section in Barnes and Noble.....until it was time to leave! Again, he fell asleep on the way home and slept for a bit after we got home. So, for the first weekend in quite awhile, he napped BOTH days! We had some more outside time when we got home, more fun on the playset, and visited with some neighbors who were outside.

Graham continues to just talk up a storm, we can't even hardly remember what it was like before he was talking. We can understand almost everything that he says and others can understand most of it. He likes to talk on the phone now, and that is a little trickier to understand. He gets his pronouns mixed up here and there, but it is cute, he says all the time - "I need something FOR eat," he even has me saying it that way now!

Graham loves to be a "helper," and his new thing is to help daddy water the trees, so I captured him in action tonight!

Another busy week for us. The weather and my work didn't cooperate with giving us much outside time! It was rainy and cool the first part of the week and then on Wednesday, I had to fly for Chicago for the day for a meeting and got home very very very late. Graham likes talks about my airplane rides with me before I leave and when I get back. He and Dean had a good evening on Wednesday evening.

Graham and I both started coming down with a little something towards the end of the week. Graham was running a fever off and on and having some messy diapers, which we suspect could still be tied to his 2 year molars still finishing up coming in. I just had typical allergy headcold congestion junk. Graham seemed to be okay on Saturday morning, so we headed to swimming class. He had a good lesson, we are off next week and then just one more lesson until our summer break! We headed to the grocery store and then home. We got to have some outside time on the playset. Graham still LOVES it, the swings, the teeter totter, the playhouse, the slide, and even sitting at the picnic table and having a drink and a snack!

On Saturday evening, we headed to a get together at a co-worker's house, which was lots of fun. She has a young daughter and she provided a sitter so the kids could play supervised in the playroom and the adults got to visit and eat and such. We left about 9pm, Graham was getting very very sleepy, and typical for him, he was sound asleep before we got home and we carried him and put him to bed and he slept all night!

Graham and I decided to stay home from church on Sunday morning, I was still all congested and he was running a fever again. Although other than a little shivering here and there, he seemed fine and ran around like crazy most of the day. My parents came for the morning and my mom made her yummy chicken and dumplings, the best medicine I could ask for! Although Graham preferred a sausage biscuit....ha! It was rainy and cold so we just had a lazy inside day the rest of the day.

So, I was putting away some laundry in our room and Graham wanted to "help," as you can see here in this picture, his version of helping turned in to him sitting on our bed in the laundry basket watching tv, ha! Of course, I had to run get the camera!

We had another busy week and weekend, complete with lots of outside time and lots of family time! Since Mother's Day was approaching, on Wednesday evening Graham and I decided to do some artwork for him to give the grandmothers. We got out the paint and markers and drew his handprints and made painted handprints also. It was lots of fun and he and I were both covered in paint from head to toe. He was very proud of them and when he saw them all laying on the table, he exclaimed, that is me!

On Saturday morning, we headed out bright and early and had brunch at Cracker Barrel with Dean's parents and Michelle. We had a very yummy meal and then went back to their house to visit for a bit. They have a new poodle and Graham was quite excited to meet her. She was a little shy though, but he still really enjoyed meeting her.

We left there and headed to my parents for the afternoon and our next meal. Granny Stoots, Kenneth, Danah and Lillian were also there. It was very nice weather and we had lots of outside time, taking pictures, flying kites and just playing all over the yard. Graham is still totally in love with Baby Lillian, and has to hold her and love on her lots. Graham did not nap on the way there as we had hoped and by the time we left there around 5pm, he was totally exhausted. He fell asleep within minutes of us getting in the car and slept almost all the way home. He had not eaten much all day, he was just too busy to stop and eat. But, when we got home, he loaded down his plate and ate a big dinner! Then, crashed hard for the night!

On Mother's Day, Dean went in to Graham's room when he heard him wake up and in a few minutes they appeared with cards for me and with a little coaching, Graham told me Happy Mother's Day. They also had me a pretty gold and silver cross necklace which they gave me on Saturday. We took some pictures outside and headed to church.

Graham was his usual noisy self in church, he just likes to talk! We might have to take a break again from taking him inside service. He just doesn't seem to understand that he needs to be quiet in there! We left church and headed to Kabuki for my Mother's Day lunch. It is always a a sure fire hit with Graham as he loves watching all the activity and they have some of the best chicken tenders in town! We had a very very fun lunch! Since, we were a little later heading home, Graham fell asleep in the car and slept a good couple hours after we got home, so that was good!

When he woke up, we had lots more outside time, fun time in his playhouse, riding his car in the driveway, and then we got our walk / stroll in. So far, this season, Graham is cooperating about riding in the stroller, hopefully it will last right on through the summer! We love our walks so much! Of course, he talks my ear off the whole time about anything and everything that we are seeing!

All in all, a very very nice Mother's Day weekend!

We are so enjoying the nice weather that is finally here! Graham is well aware of his playset in the backyard and we have been out to play on it for a bit every night. We got to walk several nights also. On Tuesday evening, Julie and Carson came over to walk and after the walk Graham and Carson had a big time playing on the playset. Graham LOVES having friends up in his "playhouse" with him. He likes to stay up there a long time before he actually goes down the slide.

His ear infection seemed to pass as quickly as it showed up and we finished up his drops. All of our allergies have continued to be flared up with all the pollen count levels, so we are all dealing with that. But, it is still so nice to have warm weather.

On Saturday, we headed to swimming and Graham was soooo excited. He was running all around the pool before the lesson started and kept wanting to get in. It is truly amazing the difference a few months has made! He had another great lesson. We will have to miss next Saturday because we will be celebrating Mother's day with the moms / grandmoms, but then we will finish out the rest of May. After swimming we ran some errands and got some lunch out. Graham enjoys being out and about and observing everyone and making lots of conversations with total strangers. We thought he would nap on the way home or shortly after we got home, but no such luck.

So, we decided to ride over the lake and just hang out for a bit. We only stayed an hour or so, but we had some much fun, sitting on the boat, playing at the beach area and kicking our legs in the pool. OH, and feeding the fish, that was the best part. Graham was happy to share his animal crackers with all the fish. We can't wait to get back over there for good and be able to swim and sail!

It is a good thing we went to the lake on Saturday, since it poured down rain on Sunday. We headed to church in the pouring rain, which caused Graham to talk about all the drops and he was most excited to get to walk under the umbrella. He was a bit loud at church, not as loud as some days, but not as quiet as good days...... We headed home after church and just had an inside play day for the rest of the day. Oh, another day with no nap, he got close in the car, but then perked back up. So, instead of napping, he will just end up going to bed a bit earlier. Naps are definitely hit or miss on the weekends. He is still a great napper at daycare, so that is good at least!

Here are some fun pics from at the lake, lots and lots more of those to come very soon!